Victorian racer Darren Parker’s vision is nearly complete of ‘what if’ an Australian manufacturer produced a drag-only version of their muscle cars. We give you the Copo Commodore.
The concept has been a huge success in the U.S with the emergence of the Copo Camaro, Dodge Drag Pak Challenger, and the Cobra Jet Mustangs which all can be seen racing in NHRA’s Factory Showdown class, and this has inspired Parker.
We previously introduced readers to the build back in 2020 here: https://dragnews.com.au/the-copo-commodore-parker-s-vision-of-what-holden-s-factory-showdown-car-might-have-been/
“As you may know, the car is a Holden VF Commodore and I am building it using inspiration from the Copo Camaro, as if Holden built their own Factory Stock drag car. I love the F/S Class running in the USA and would jump in if there was a similar class racing in Australia,” Parker said.
As a reminder, Parker teamed up with Craig Burns at SCF Racecars and using written of VF shell came up with their interpretation on how to build the car, knowing they did not have to follow NHRA Stock chassis rules, or get sanctioning body approval for every part as is done in the USA. The result means the chassis will fit into a few /MS classes in Super Stock if Parker wants to go that direction in the future.
“There are no square tubes in the 4-link rear end and we have quite a bit of adjustment in the mounting locations on the chassis and the diff that aren’t allowed in the F/S Class. I have Menscer Canister shocks on the rear and Strange Copo Camaro Struts on the front suspension. I am running the same 30 x 9″ radial rear tyre that they run in the NHRA and will have the same challenges getting a 3200+lb car to go down the track,” he said.
“I will be running a 412ci Aluminium LSR block with MAST cylinder heads supplied by John at Street Quick Performance in Perth and machined and assembled by Peter Ridgeway in Melbourne. It will be topped with the same Magnuson 2650 Supercharger that the Copo Camaro runs in the NHRA that has been supplied by Todd at Patterson Elite in the USA. All going well the engine in the car should make over 1100Hp at the rear wheels.”
Parker plans to run the car in Top Sportsman, but hopes the powers that be will implement a Group 2 class that it will fit in. But for now is happy to be back out racing once again, running DYO and having fun on a little 9″ shoe.
“With no weight break and overdrive limitations, my goal is to run the car in the sevens on that 9″ radial tyre, but also have the flexibility to put a 275 tyre on and have a play there too, although I won’t be competitive in the heads up classes against the chassis cars with turbos!” he said.
“The only hold up at the moment is on the engine and getting it together. Once I have that in my hands I will be putting in as many hours in as I can to get it wired and in the car ready for testing. Hoping for early 2022, but with so many delays through 2021 I can’t give an exact date just yet.”
